Forgetting about their worries and their strife proved difficult for parents who braved the queues at Festival Place shopping centre in Basingstoke on Thursday July 12 morning, as the Build A Bear store had to be shut "due to extreme crowds and safety concerns".

The popular teddy bear and stuffed animals 'workshop' was staging a Pay Your Age Day event around the UK.

However, Build A Bear said the response and demand had proved to be "overwhelming and unprecedented", with Basingstoke and other stores in Sheffield and Telford being closed down.

Twitter user @sbrackenborough described "mad scenes" at Festival Place as the discount offer brought "kids out in droves".

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There were sure to have been scores of grizzly children and parents up and down the country, with Build A Bear saying on Thursday morning that all stores in the UK were "reporting similar crowds and [queue] lines and they can no longer accept additional guests for this event".

"We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding at this time," the chain added in a social media post.